Henderson’s message was clear – the creative middle class is being eliminated by outdated copyright laws. His speech can be viewed on the Economic Club’s Facebook page.

In his speech, Henderson shared some of the startling new economic evidence in the report which details the scope of harm done, and confirms that the Value Gap in Canada continues to grow.

In a series of studies, Dr. George Barker, Visiting Fellow, London School of Economics, and Honorary Associate Professor, Australian National University, has documented that the Value Gap in Canada is significantly larger than previously understood, and that it continues to widen.

Dr. Barker distilled his findings to three key measures:

$19.3 billion – the cumulative Canadian recorded music Value Gap over 20 years since 1997

$1.6 billion – the music industry Value Gap in Canada in 2017 alone

$82 million – the average annual increase in the music industry Value Gap in Canada between 1997 and 2017

After his speech, Henderson was joined on stage by the MP for Toronto-Danforth and Chair of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Julie Dabrusin. As Chair of the Committee, Dabrusin recently released a report, Shifting Paradigms, that recommended to the government a series of actions that would help artists and the creative industries. Henderson called the report, “a guide to fix the Internet.”

Dabrusin credited artists testimony at the Heritage Committee for the report’s recommendations, and cited Miranda Mulholland’s personal account of how Value Gap has affected her career as a catalyst for her careful consideration of these issues.

“I think we should give a bit of a shout out to Miranda Mulholland,” said Dabrusin. “… She spoke very, very forcefully about the value gap and where it was most forceful was that it brought up her personal journey, the stories of other artists who she knew. So it wasn’t just a dry, matter of fact on a piece of paper anymore. It was hearing the actual impact that was happening in our communities and young people’s lives. And that was the first time that perhaps I’d even twigged a bit more carefully to those issues.”

Dabrusin also encouraged everyone in the music industry to continue to work together when dealing with the Federal government noting that for the Copyright Act Review, almost all music stakeholders came forward with the music priorities to address the Value Gap.

The report builds on Music Canada’s previous findings from the 2017 report, The Value Gap: Its Origins, Impacts and a Made-in-Canada Approach, which first identified the existence of a gap in value of creative content and the revenues returned to the artists who create it. A broken copyright framework, ill-adapted to the challenges of the digital age, is now generally recognized as the cause of the Value Gap.

“The origins of the Value Gap can be found more than 20 years ago. It was the dawning of the digital marketplace, and countries around the world struggled to reinterpret copyright laws that were designed for an analog age,” says Graham Henderson, President and CEO of Music Canada. “They wanted to protect creators, but they also wanted to give a boost to young technological start-ups. Inevitably, perhaps understandably, mistakes were made.”

New economic evidence confirms that the Value Gap in Canada continues to grow, with staggering figures that show the discrepancy between what artists make and what they create:

$19.3 billion: the cumulative Canadian recorded music industry Value Gap over 20 years since 1997.

$1.6 billion: the music industry Value Gap in Canada in 2017 alone.

$82 million: the average annual increase in the music industry Value Gap in Canada between 1997 and 2017.

Supported by the data and the experiences of hardships that musicians currently face, Music Canada joins Parliament’s Heritage Committee in proposing solutions to improve Canada’s copyright framework to better ensure that creators are paid when their work is commercialized by others. From clarifying safe harbours, to addressing the responsibilities of user-upload services, to eliminating the commercial radio royalty exemption and clarifying the definition of “sound recordings”, to creating a temporary fund for private copying, these recommendations would ensure fair compensation for artists and reduce the Value Gap.

“Canadian artists deserve a sustainable and working marketplace for their work,” says artist and record label owner Miranda Mulholland, who also serves as Chair of Music Canada’s Advisory Council. “Artists have been speaking up about the need to close the Value Gap, and our industry speaks in a unified voice on this issue. We need to end broad safe harbours and stop subsidizing billionaires who are commercializing the work of others without fair compensation. This report lays out the steps to fix our broken copyright framework and restore fairness to the creators of music.”

“Closing the Value Gap definitively sets out the economic evidence surrounding the size and growth of the Value Gap and provides clear, achievable recommendations to fix it,” Henderson adds. “The report draws focus to the main cause of the Value Gap in Canada: broad safe harbour laws in the Copyright Act. Two Parliamentary Committees in Canada have recommended reviewing Canada’s safe harbour laws. Now is the time to rebalance the ledger and restore fairness to the marketplace for creators.”

Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that represents the major record companies in Canada: Sony Music Entertainment Canada, Universal Music Canada and Warner Music Canada. Music Canada also works with some of the leading independent record labels and distributors, recording studios, live music venues, concert promoters, managers and artists in the promotion and development of the music cluster.

Congratulations to @AnyaWilsonPR on your well-deserved induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame! You’ve made an incredible career of breaking records, helping artists, & making sure great music gets heard.

Congratulations to the team at @WarnerCanada, awarded the 2019 @CCMAofficial Record Company of the Year! Wonderful remarks by President Steve Kane, recognizing his artists, staff, and mentor Deane Cameron.

Congratulations to @GuylaineTanguay, winner of the @CCMAofficial Award for Top Selling Canadian Album of the Year for “3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard.”
Music Canada is proud to return as presenting sponsor of this award.

The #CCMA Gala Dinner and Awards are underway with a great performance by the Gold-certified @JadeEagleson! Congratulations to all of tonight’s nominees.
Music Canada is proud to present the Top Selling Canadian Album of the Year Award, presented this evening.

@Music_Canada @KingEddyYYC @CCMAofficial @JackieMDean @AmyJeninga @FeistyDesign What an incredible panel of brilliant and inspirational leaders - I was thrilled and honoured to be a part of this panel @JackieMDean @AmyJeninga @FeistyDesign and Tracy Martin of @CCMAofficial - Robyn Adair

Kicking off at @KingEddyYYC, #CCMA Women in Music Brunch: Building Critical Mass, with influential women in the music business sharing insights from their careers, & building mentor relationships with the next generation of leaders